WATCH: Jahan Dotson reveals touching moment with Ron Rivera over Penn State graduation

Washington Commanders first-round pick Jahan Dotson has another major ceremony to attend after enjoying the festivities of the 2022 NFL Draft. The former Penn State Nittany Lion wide receiver is graduating from college on Saturday. And during the team’s press conference on Friday, Dotson explained just what this means to him and his family and whether he has worked out an agreement with head coach Ron Rivera to attend the graduation.

“Many people in my family haven’t achieved this goal, so it’s pretty big for me and my family to be able to achieve this goal of graduating college,” said Dotson. “So, it’s gonna be a really cool moment and an end to a great week.”

With rookie minicamps starting up this weekend, it creates a scheduling conflict for Dotson with the minicamp and his graduation. Dotson appears to be ready and willing to skip his graduation and fully invest in the Commanders. However, Rivera has another plan in mind.

“Oh, I was actually ready to skip to graduation and be out here at practice. But he said that that’s like a once in a million type of thing. He was all for me going. I honestly hadn’t even thought about skipping practice until he kind of brought that up.”

Commanders first round WR Jahan Dotson is set to graduate from Penn State tomorrow – a huge moment for him and his family. But with Washington in rookie minicamp, he was planning on skipping graduation.

Until coach Ron Rivera urged him to attend.

Really cool from Rivera 👏 pic.twitter.com/K7XOygAnOS

— Field Yates (@FieldYates) May 7, 2022

Commanders take Dotson in the first round

After a successful four-year career with the Penn State Nittany Lions, wide receiver Jahan Dotson is finally off to the big leagues. The Washington Commanders drafted Dotson with the No. 16 overall pick in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft on Thursday.

The Commanders need a speedy, inside/outside wide receiver and that’s what they’ll get with the Big Ten standout from Nazareth, Penn. The 5-foot-11, 178-pound wideout ran a blistering 4.43-second 40-yard dash and is coming off of his best season yet with 1,182 yards and 12 scores. For his 91-reception performance as a senior, he earned third-team Associated Press All-American and second-team All-Big Ten accolades.

In Jahan Dotson, the Commanders are also getting a skilled return man. As a junior, he posted 197 yards on eight returns with one punt returned for a touchdown.

In the midst of the 2020 season, Dotson revealed his philosophy as a wide receiver:

“I approach that (ball) as a million dollars. It’s a million dollars in the air. If you want it, you go get it.”

Dotson initially committed to UCLA coming out of high school as a four-star prospect. He was the No. 196 player in the country, according to the On3 Consensus, and ultimately decided to stay close to home with the Nittany Lions.